On Saturday, we visited a permaculture project, working with trees (mostly berry and nut) and perennial plants. This is an awesome farm! One main concept of the land is planting on swales, which are dug “ditches” along an elevation contour. These swales prevent from dirt being eroded from the fields by providing area for the water to slow. The farmer we visited takes some inspiration from Ben Falk’s farm and swale project. If you want to learn more, here is a youtube link to his description of the swales.

The mission of permaculture is not only to provide a space of permanent culture (hence the name perma-culture) for plants, but also for people. The farmer’s intention is to make his farm a fertile growing space for plants and people. He hopes to have dinners and community gatherings at the farm to achieve this.

Nick L., the farmer, has about 450 trees, including seaberry, almonds, hazelnuts, or mullberrys. Under these trees, there are perennial onions, kale, and herbs.

We look forward to going to visit for a few more gatherings of people in the future!